Now, on to something more exciting. As you may have gathered from our campaign website, on March 19th, we will host a 24-hour telethon to close this fundraising drive. Broadcasting on the web from locations around the globe, net art superstars will shine.

Over the next two weeks, we'll tease more about the program, including specific live-event rewards for giving. But be certain, any campaign gift will be celebrated via public recognition of your generosity.

Rhizome is a nimble organization that is passionate about the impact we can make in the field of digital preservation—yet the work we do exists outside the funding structures of higher education or institutional research. We think organizations like ours play an important role in the ecosystem of the digital preservation community. If you believe this too, please support us.

A message from Dragan Espenschied:

I was appointed Rhizome's new Digital Conservator in January, and though I've not even started yet, I've had a lot of encouraging feedback. People are enthusiastic about what this organization can do for the field of digital preservation.

Rhizome has been online since 1996 and I have been lucky enough to witness its growth from an informal email list to the organization it is today.

What I appreciate about Rhizome is that even as it continues to evolve and reinvent itself year after year, seeking out emerging ideas, artists, and areas of practice, it remains firmly rooted in a historical context. This can be seen not only in its pioneering work in the field of digital preservation, but also in programming and writing that finds contemporary relevance in media archives and brings different generations into dialogue.

Rhizome is a vital link between the past, present, and future of art and technology.

When I received a Rhizome commission, it gave me what it has given so many others: a truly unique opportunity to realize an otherwise-unlikely, ambitious artwork. Donating to Rhizome during its community campaign sustains its commitment to emerging artists, ensuring that others will find meaningful support for their work when it matters most.

New York City can be a challenging home for an artist. There's a lot of competition, exorbitant living expenses, and hardship. For me, financial pressures meant that I could only afford to do small scale projects, essentially making work at the same level at which I had been operating since receiving my MFA.

In the final week of Rhizome's Community Fundraising Campaign, we profile seven artists hand-picked by Rhizome to generously contribute artworks, ensuring you receive compelling thank you gifts at every donation level. Give now to receive one of these works.

Concerned with the ever growing level of surveillance today, the work of Brooklyn-based artist Adam Harvey aims to provide a fashionable and functional means to combat it.

The Off Pocket is one in a series of projects where Harvey has thwarted the methods by which we are tracked in contemporary society — whether it be phone signal, or cameras, Harvey's work uncovers the surreptitious new enablers of surveillance societies. In an Artist Profile for Rhizome, Harvey explains:

"Smartphones infiltrate our senses. They cause anxiety, phantom vibrations, and keep us on alert. We expend energy maintaining an always-on connection. Smartphones should come with a switch to turn this off, but they don’t. Turning my iPhone off and back on takes 45 seconds. Using flight mode is also clumsy. I wanted a way to quickly and politely disconnect myself without relying on the phone’s software or hardware features. The Off Pocket circumvents this design flaw."

Harvey has donated twenty of his Off Pockets (Off Pouch version) which prevent data leakage from your smart phone. Placing your phone inside of the Off Pocket will improve personal privacy for smart phone users concerned about phone hacking, tracking, or simply a break from the connected life.

Contributions of $300 will receive an Off Pocket as well as the limited edition tote bag by ReCode Project, the 56 + 10 Broken Kindle Screens (Kindle Edition) eBook, and one full year of Rhizome membership.